The Institute for Palestine Studies is pleased to present “The Legal Assault on Palestinian Rights Activism”, a panel discussion on November 21st from 12pm to 2.30pm at the SEIU building in Dupont Circle, 1800 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington DC.

The panel will be moderated by Journal of Palestine Studies Editor, Rashid Khalidi and feature a distinguished panel of experts including, civil rights attorneys Andrew Dalack, Dima Khalidi and Yaman Salahi and Professor Steven Salaita, who’s recent firing by the University of Illinois has drawn increased attention to the aggressive silencing of pro-Palestinian voices in the US.

As the movement for Palestinian rights grows in size and diversity in the US, individuals speaking out against Israeli human rights violations and American involvement in Israel’s discriminatory policies are increasingly facing intense backlash, smear campaigns, threats to their employment and reputation, legal bullying, censorship and punishment.

The panelists will discuss the criminalization of Palestinian advocacy and the targeting of individual Palestine activists for surveillance, investigation, and criminal prosecution, referencing the cases against longtime Chicago activist Rasmea Odeh, the so-called Holy Land Five (Ghassan Elashi, Shukri Abu-Baker, Mufid Abdulqader, Abdulrahman Odeh, and Mohammad El-Mezain), and former University of South Florida Professor Sami al-Arian.